According to the study, 57% of companies who have a blog reported acquiring a customer from their blog.

Hubspot

10 steps to better blogging

If you’re busy running a business, chances are you’re wondering if blogging is really worth the time and effort. The short answer is a resounding YES! Blogging on a frequent basis is a relatively easy, inexpensive way to enhance your inbound marketing efforts, drive traffic to your website, and attract more prospective customers.

Statistics from Hubspot's 2012 Inbound Marketing Report highlight the importance of blogging. According to the study, 57% of companies who have a blog reported acquiring a customer from their blog. In that same study, a survey of marketers revealed that 81% of businesses say that their blog is useful or critical for their business.

So how do you make sure your blog is the best it can be?

Plan - Identify the keywords and phrases that are most relevant to your business and plan a 12 month calendar of blog posts that allow you to cover each of those keywords and phrases.

Keep it natural - try to include relevant keywords and phrases in each blog post but don’t go over the top and cram them in unnecessarily - keep your writing style natural so that the content is relevant and interesting to the reader.

Include keywords in the title and the first paragraph if you can.

Include a photo of the author or an interesting image/video that illustrates the key message.

If you’re aiming to position an individual as a voice of authority on an issue in your industry remember to include their name as the author of the blog.

Use subheadings and bullet points so that it is easy on the eye and inviting to read.

Make it easy to share by including social media buttons on the page.

Make it easy to subscribe to your blog.

Add links to relevant services and/or products on your blog page so readers can find them easily after being inspired by what you say.

Use links within the blog (about 10 in a 600-800 word blog). 70% should be external links and 30% internal.

Blogging should be at the heart of your digital marketing strategy. It can help you differentiate your business from the competition in an industry, where product ranges can be very similar. Blogs help you to show personality, help improve your website's overall performance in search engines and also give an idea of the kind of service that customers can expect from you.